Government moves to ban capture of cetaceans to keep in captivity

In this Monday, March 7, 2011, file photo, killer whale Tilikum, right, watches as SeaWorld Orlando trainers take a break during a training session at the theme park's Shamu Stadium in Orlando, Fla. SeaWorld officials say Tilikum, the orca that killed a trainer at the company's Orlando park, died from bacterial pneumonia. SeaWorld spokeswoman Aimée Jeansonne Becka announced the results of a necropsy in an email Friday, Feb. 3, 2017. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack, File)

As part of its plan to update the Fisheries Act, the government is moving to ban the capture of cetaceans to keep in captivity.

Among the many amendments included in legislation tabled today aimed at restoring protections lost under the previous Conservative government and incorporating modern safeguards to protect fish and their habitat, Fisheries Minister Dominic LeBlanc said he’s listened to the many groups that want to end the practice of taking whales and dolphins from the wild to display them in captivity.

“We understand deeply the concerns Canadians have,” LeBlanc said at a press conference in Vancouver.

“The public acceptance of keeping these majestic creatures in captivity has changed and we think the law should reflect that.”

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans hasn’t issued a permit to capture a cetacean from the wild in Canada for the purposes of public display since the 1990s. The bill tabled today states that “no one shall fish for a cetacean with the intent to take it into captivity.”

It does allow the minister of fisheries to make an exception and provide special authorization in cases of an injured cetacean or one that is in distress and in need of care or rehabilitation.

“We’re telling Canadians now we will be banning the capture of cetaceans for the purpose of keeping them in captivity. We think they will have massive support for that principle,” LeBlanc said.

Green Party Leader Elizabeth May said she sees it as a positive step that these amendments were included in the bill.

“I don’t know that the scope of the work of a minister of fisheries and oceans could include banning keeping whales in captivity in a place like Marineland, but this goes a long way,” she said.

Green Party Leader Elizabeth May talks with media in Ottawa on Tuesday, February 6, 2018. iPolitics/Matthew Usherwood

What’s been put forward by the government today also doesn’t prevent the importation of cetaceans from other jurisdictions — it’s just dealing with activity in Canadian waters.

Bill S-203, which is currently before the Senate — goes further on both fronts. It calls for captivity to be banned and would also ban the import or export of whales and dolphins, as well as cetacean sperm, tissue culture and embryos.

“We need the bill to get out of the Senate,” May said. “I know it’s being blocked by Conservative Sen. Don Plett. There is an amazing and creative use of ways to ensnarl a bill to keep it from reaching the House.”

She will be its sponsor should it clear the Red Chamber and jump down the hall.

“I’m hoping it will pass in the House once we get it out of the Senate. I applaud the Vancouver Aquarium taking a step voluntarily (to stop displaying cetaceans), but we do still need that bill.”